Devise a BOGO for Back to School, Draft a Recession Playbook, and More To-Dos for July

Jul. 2-8

MARKETING Still hunting for a Back-to-School promo? How about a BOGO for parents and children? Or a free pair of sunglasses for teens who commit to a year’s supply of contact lenses. (Of course, you’ll want to select a limited stock of frames).

MANAGEMENT The economic outlook remains uncertain. Create a playbook to ensure you’re not paralyzed should a recession hit. It should include guidelines on how you plan to respond based on different reactions by customers and competitors to a slump. PricewaterhouseCoopers has suggestions for such a playbook, visit invisionmag.com/062302.

PRODUCT Put together a “What’s New!” display board and webpage in anticipation of new arrivals from recent show orders.

Jul. 9-15

FINANCES Identify and chase up all overdue payments or other outstanding receivables. Balancing your accounts is much easier when you get back all the money that is owed to you.

MARKETING Hit your social media channels to remind vacation-bound clients to pack a backup pair of CLs or glasses in their carry-on. Start educating them why it’s essential.

Jul. 16-22

MARKETING Hate holding sales? Go corporate. Give discount cards to large businesses and offices located near your store.

MANAGEMENT Change your furniture, change your perspective. Move your desk to a different spot in your office (and again in six months). Sounds silly but it will shake up the status quo.

Jul. 23-29

TRAINING Discuss how to use company stories during sales presentations. Highlight how selling yourself and your practice is just as important as selling the merchandise and services. (If you come from an ECP family, ask your parents to tell you a story you haven’t heard yet. You’ll make their day.)

MANAGEMENT For the next four weeks, pretend Friday doesn’t exist. Schedule nothing. Instead, use the day to catch up on paperwork, marketing and other managerial tasks. Dive into spreadsheets. Look for opportunities to eliminate margin leaks.

WEBSITE Improve your 404 error page. Google “best 404 pages” for a ton of fun and clever examples that should inspire you to come up with something memorable.